Shadowland
by Monica121
Summary: I've been stuck in this realm of the undead for about 150 years. No one could see me, and I didn't really have anyone to talk to. Then she showed up. And she could see me. And suddenly I wasn't alone. Jesse's POV during book one.
1. Prologue

I am proud to say that this is my first Mediator fic. I love the series, but I haven't read Twilight yet. I am hoping to get it soon. That's why I am only sticking with the first 5 books while I write Mediator Fiction….

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Meg Cabot was the brilliant creator of The Mediator. Though I wouldn't mind owning Jesse… Or Fred and George Weasley for that matter…. But, alas, that is a different book….

Okay everyone; this is my first fic that isn't a song fic. I hope its okay!

This actually takes place during the first book. In Jesse's POV. I'm hoping to do a whole series in Jesse's POV, one story for each book. Lemme know what you think! I know this first chapter is short, buy it is just the prologue, so bear with me!

**Also, for those of you who read my Harry Potter fics, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I haven't had my computer in two weeks, plus I was out of town. I'll try to write the new chapters soon...

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I suppose my story _re_started when a rather loud family of five moved in to the old boarding house. There were three boys. The oldest one, who seemed to have a sleeping disorder, the second youngest, who was, what I've been heard referred to in this century as "a meathead," and the little one, who was by far my favorite. He was the most perceptive of the three, and consequently, the only one who acknowledge my presence in the slightest.

There was also, of course,_ una_ _mamá y un papá_

They seemed like alright people. They would be better housemates than the last family that was here, I can assure you.

What I couldn't help but wonder though, is what _my _room was for. Well, okay, it wasn't my room _anymore._ But I'm sure they didn't mind that I was here. I mean, why would they? They can't even see me.

Yes, I suppose I should explain. I am what you call a ghost. A specter. One of the undead.

You see, when a person dies, if they have something they have left unfinished, they don't go on to whatever is meant for us after we leave the earth. I, personally, believe that we go on to heaven or hell, but I understand that there are those of us who believe otherwise.

Anyway, so I've been in this boarding house for roughly 150 years. In that time I haven't talked to a single person. Well, at least not a living person. You see, ghosts have an ability to communicate with each other. In fact, to one and other, we are basically regular people. Ignoring the fact that no one else can see us.

But, even with the millions of other ghosts floating around the earth, we spirits are pretty much destined to remain with only the people we died with. Meaning, if you died alone, like I did, and you became a ghost, you were pretty much stuck in solitude until you figured out why you were still here.

And that could take a very, _very _long time.

Anyway, back to my story.

So, this family, these "Ackermans" had prepared "my" room for _someone. _I knew it could not be what you call a "guestroom" because the mother was very careful in the decorations she chose, and spent a great amount of time preparing the room.

I also knew that it would not belong to anyone else in the house. Each boy already had their own quarters, and the parents shared a room, as has been the custom since the beginning on the 20th century.

I didn't learn until a few months after the family had moved in who the room was for. I won't lie and tell you that I knew from the moment I saw Susannah Simon that my life was about to change dramatically. Because, honestly, I didn't even know until a few minutes later that she could actually _see_ me. And I guess that _that _is where the story truly began.

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So what do you all think of the prologue? I tried not to make it sound too OOC. I'm sorry if it did. Please review! Remember, this is my first Mediator fic, so please be kind!

**Repost! I took it down to fix some grammar errors. Those of you who reviewed, thanks! I hope you review again!**

Love,

Monica


	2. Chapter One

You all don't know how happy I am with the response I got for the prologue! Look for your name at the bottom!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All of the wonderful characters are Meg Cabot's. I do wish I owned Jesse though… :Sigh:

So here is chapter 2!

It had been a few months since this new family had moved in to the old boarding house. After having been observing them for a while, I came to pick up on their schedules. The three boys left for school in the mornings, followed by the woman, and then the father. Twice a week, the boys didn't leave so early.

A rare thing was for the family to all leave at once, in a group. But that's what happened one day in early January. The whole family left about mid-day. I don't know where they were going, only that they piled into that… what had I heard the boy call it? Oh yes. A Land Rover.

They were gone a while. Probably about two hours. I didn't really do much in that time. My "state of being" or rather, what I often incorrectly refer to as my "life," was very uneventful. Even for a ghost. I often wandered around the house, hoping to find a good book or something of the like to peak my interest. Unfortunately, only one of the Ackermans seemed to be interested much in reading. The littlest one.

Besides this room, "my room," the room that I died, David's room is probably my favorite. He is by far the most intelligent of the three boys. He had some interesting books in his room.

But, on with the story. So, about two hours after the family left, I heard the front door open. The first thing that I heard was the woman saying, "Come on Suze. Come see your new room."

To be honest, hearing those words made me a bit sad. This _must _be the new occupant of _mi cuarto. _The girl, apparently called "Suze," (I resist the urge to call the name vulgar) took her time coming up to the room.

The second she walked in though, I had to catch my breath. She was a bit intimidating. She was wearing a black jacket that would have gotten her condemned during my time, and a pair of jeans that looked like they had been through a cheese grater.

I could tell she was displeased with the room, though she wouldn't say it out loud. Though, honestly, I'm not surprised. This girl seemed rather "rough around the edges," and the room seemed like her polar opposite.

She turned towards the window, where I happened to be sitting. She frowned, and I couldn't help but wonder why. Who frowns at such a lovely view?

Her mother obviously must have felt the same way, because she said, "Oh, Suze. Not again."

Yea, I know. Totally short right? I'm sorry! The problem is, that's where the actual chapter ends… I'll update soon though, I promise. Just let me update my HP fics first…

Thanks so much for all of the reviews!

**Stella Blu- **I count Glad and Someday We'll Know as songfics, because they are _based _on songs. So, technically, this _is_ my first non-songfic.

**Elmer's Girl- **I know there are many in Jesse's POV, but I am going to try to do it a bit differently. Yes, I write Harry Potter fics. I am a "seasoned" HP writer, and I hope that my Mediator writing will get a response like the one I got for my fic _Someday We'll Know. _

**Angelic Chocolate Fairy- **Thank you so, so much!

**Bobkat2007- **Thanks for reviewing both times. I really appreciate it. Yea, I love Jesse…

**Nikki007- **Thanks so much!

**Iluvreading- **I will, don't worry!

**Lord Lanceahlot- **Thanks so much. I am playing on doing Jesse's POV for all of the books, so I should be able to read Twilight before I need to do it.

**Strawberry-Shortcake01- **Thanks. And really, it isn't my first fic. It's just my first Mediator fic. I've been writing HP fics for ages.

**HARU is my LOVELY- **Yea, I'm going to buy Twilight soon! Chapter 10 of Someday We'll Know is coming soon… I know it is taking me forever. Sorry…

**Jesse's Querida- **Thanks so much!

**Nick- **Wow, thanks!

**PureEsparenza- **It's pretty much going to follow the book plot, but I love Jesse, so I thought I'd do a his POV story.

**Anonymouse- **I used it as a figure of speech. I know Jesse doesn't have a life, but it sounded better than "…my state of being was about to change dramatically."

Well, I have to update my HP fics, so don't expect another update for a few weeks. I'm really sorry.

Love,

Monica


	3. Chapter Two

My goodness! With the three month anniversary of _not _updating approaching I new I had to update. I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner. I kept meaning to, but it kept getting pushed to the back of my priority list. I'm soooo sorry. I promise updates with be more regular now.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Hate to disappoint everyone who thought I was Meg Cabot. (It's called sarcasm. Learn it, Live it, Love it.)

So on with chapter 3….

/3/

The girl scowled, and in an unenthusiastic voice said, "Never mind, Mom. Everything's fine. The room is great. Thanks so much."

The girl's mother looked skeptical, but to what looked like the girl's relief the mother didn't press. The mother smiled though, and said, "Well, I'm glad you like it. I was sort of worried. I mean, I know how you get about… well, old places." I tried not to be offended. What was wrong with old things?

"Really mom. It's great. I love it." The girl really tried hard to look convincing.

At this, the father, a man I had come to know as Andy, smiled excitedly and proceeded to show around the room, including the clap-on lights. The useless things people came up with these days….

She really tried hard to be happy, I could tell. And she did a pretty good job too.

When Andy finished his little tour of the girl's room, he left the room, leaving the girl and her mother.

"Is it _really _all right, Suze?" Her mother asked. "I know it's a big change. I know it's asking a lot of you—"

The girl took off her black jacket that would have had her condemned, and did something that would have, in my time, had her severely punished. She interrupted her mother.

"It's fine mom. Really." She said, a bit too gruffly in my opinion. Her mother seemed unfazed.

"I mean, asking you to leave Grandma, and Gina, and New York. It's selfish of me. I know. I know things haven't been… well, easy for you. Especially since Daddy died."

I didn't know her grandmother, or this Gina person, but after hearing that her father had died, my heart swelled with grief for her.

Her mother went on to talk about what she called "fresh starts" while the girl rolled her eyes a lot, when she thought no one was paying attention.

"Well," her mother said finally. "I guess if you don't want help unpacking, I'll go see how Andy is doing with dinner."

"Yeah Mom," I cringed at the slang word "Yeah." _Yes. _I felt like telling her. The word is _yes. "_You go do that. I'll just get settled here, and I'll be down in a minute.

Her mother nodded and got up. But as she got to the door, she turned around, and I saw her eyes fill with tears. "I just want you to be happy, Susie. That's all I've ever wanted. Do you think you can be happy here?"

The girl gave her mother a hug and said, "Sure mom. Sure I'll be happy here. I feel at home already." At that moment, I decided I liked this girl a lot. Even though she couldn't see me, she'd be a good roommate. She wanted to make her mother happy.

"Really? You swear?" Her mother said, on the verge of more tears.

"I do." She said. And I was surprised to realize that now she was actually sincere.

Her mother left, and the girl closed the door. After a few seconds, she did something that to this day will surprise me forever. She turned around, looking straight at me, and said, "All right. Who the hell are you?"

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I was shocked. I looked over my shoulder, just in case, to make sure I was alone. Could she honestly be talking to me? I was so shocked, in fact, that her language almost didn't faze me. In my day, it wasn't proper for women to use those words.

"_Nombre de Dios." _I said.

"It's no use calling on your higher power," She said to me. "In case you haven't noticed, He isn't paying a whole lot of attention to you. Otherwise, He wouldn't have left you here to fester for—" She paused, as her eyes scanned my clothes. "What is it, a hundred and fifty years? Has it really been that long since you croaked?"

This girl spoke in a manner I was most unfamiliar with. She was a girl who obviously was comfortable taking charge, and that definitely wasn't something that I ran into a lot when I was still alive. And that word… croaked? I stared at her confused.

"What is croaked?" I asked, although it was almost difficult to speak, having not used my voice for so very long. She rolled her eyes, I noticed. "Kicked the bucket. Checked out. Popped off. Bit the dust." I still had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. "_Died." _She said in an exasperated voice.

"Oh," I said, upset that she was speaking to me so condescendingly. I shook my head at her. "I don't understand," I was still recovering from the shock of her actually being able to _see _me, let alone answer any questions she was asking. "I don't understand how it is that you can see me. All these years no one has ever—"

And then, I am surprised to say, she cut _me _off, just like she had her mother.

"Yeah," she said. _YES. _I thought. _It's **yes. **_"Well listen, the times, you know, they are a-changin'. So what's your glitch?" She said.

I just blinked at her. I had no idea what she was talking about. At all. She was using these words that I did not understand the meaning of, such as "glitch" and she expected me to answer.

"Glitch?" I asked. I was expecting her to roll her eyes some more, or do something equally vulgar, but she didn't.

Instead, she said, "Yeah," **_YES! _**She cleared her throat. "Glitch. Problem. Why are you still here?"

I stared at her. This girl was fascinating, albeit confusing. "_Why haven't you gone to the other side?" _She asked, in a frustrated tone.

I shook my head. I was still confused. "I don't know what you mean."

"What do you mean you don't know what I mean?" She yelled at me. "You're _dead. _You don't belong here. You're supposed to be off, doing whatever it is people do when they're dead. Rejoicing in heaven, or burning in hell, or being reincarnated, or ascending plane of consciousness or whatever. You're not supposed to be just… well, _hanging around." _This girl was fiery. And short tempered.

I looked at her and resisted my urge to use her habit of rolling my eyes. "And what if I happen to like just _hanging around?" _I asked, also resisting the urge to laugh.

"Look, you can do all the hanging around you want, _amigo." _I inwardly cringed. She called me amigo. "Slack away. I don't really care. But you can't do it here."

I looked at her for a second, before I said, "Jesse."

"What?" She said.

"You called me _amigo_. I thought you might like to know that I have a name. It's Jesse." I surprised myself with the slight sarcasm I had in my voice.

She nodded. "Right. That figures. Well, fine, Jesse then. You can't stay here, Jesse."

"And you?" I was smiling now, blatantly ignoring what she was telling me. It was actually kind of fun. She was getting frustrated with me, and I was actually enjoying it.

"And me, what?" She said rather rudely. I just kept smiling at her. This was rather enjoyable.

"What is your name?"

She glared at me, and I so badly wanted to laugh. "Look. Just tell me what you want and get out. I'm hot and I want to change clothes. I don't have time to—"

She interrupted me, so I had no problem inturupting her. "That women—your mother—called you Susie. Short for Susan?"

"Susannah." She said. "As in, 'Don't you cry for me.'"

I smiled. I used to sing that song to my sister. "I know that song."

"Yeah. It was probably in the top forty the year you were born, huh?" I had no idea what the top forty was, but the face she was making was amusing, so I smiled.

"So this is your room now, is it, Susannah?" I asked.

"Yeah," She said. "Yeah, this is my room. So your going to have to clear out."

I thought it was funny she assumed she could make me 'clear out.' I've been leaving here for years. "_I'm _going to have to clear out?" I asked. I raised an eyebrow. "This has been my home for a century and a half. Why do _I _have to leave it?"

"Because." She said. She was getting angry, and I found it rather cute. "This is _my _room, and I'm not sharing it with some dead cowboy."

Dead cowboy. _Dead Cowboy. _She did not just call me a dead cowboy. I lept up and stomped my foot. "I am _not_ a cowboy." Under my breath I added, _"Niña loca, no sabes que dices."_

"Woah!" She said. "Down. Down, boy."

I waved my finger in her face. "My family worked like slaves to make something of themselves in this country, but never, never as a _vaquero—"_

"Hey," She said. Then she did something I will also never forget. She yanked on my hand and pulled me closer to her. I was so shocked at the contact, I stopped talking. "Stop with the mirror already. And stop shoving your finger in my fave. Do it again, and I'll break it."

I paled at that very moment. I could tell she was absolutely serious.

I looked at my hand still shocked. How had she touched me? Grabbed me, even?

"Now, look, Jesse. This is my room, understand? You can't stay here. You've either got to let me help you get to where you're supposed to go, or you're going to have to find some other house to haunt. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

I was still shocked. Who was this girl? What in the world was going on. _Nombre de Dios, _help me.

"Who _are_ you? What kind of… girl are you?" I asked, my voice just above a whisper.

"I'll tell you what kind of girl I'm _not," _she said. "I'm not the kind of girl who's looking to share her room with a member of the opposite sex. Understand me? So either you move out, or I force you out. It's entirely up to you. I'll give you some time to think about it. But when I get back, Jesse, I want you gone."

And then she turned around and left the room.

I was angry. Very angry. How could she talk to me like that? She didn't even know me.

So I disappeared, and hung out in the beyond for a bit, just to blow off some steam. One thing was sure, I was not going to leave that house.

/3/

I promise to do review responses next time! I'm too sleepy to do it now… I'm really sorry about not updating sooner, so I made this chapter longer :)

I decided to do two chapters. Where the (-) is, that's where the first chapter ended. I'll update soon, I promise.

Love,

Monica


	4. Chapter Three

Oh. My. Goodness. Do you all hate me? Please don't hate me! I know its been a year… I know. I can't believe I just… I don't know. I went through a period where my computer crashed, and I just didn't update anything because EVERYTHING was lost. But I've had a new computer for a few months, and I didn't update because of softball. I still can't believe I wanted almost a YEAR. I'm sorry. Won't happen again. Because I'm going to finish this story, and SOON.

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Well, hope some of you are still reading… If not… I'm sorry it took so long. And if you are, THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME!

Chapters in this one: Jesse isn't in chapters 4-8, so these are what I thought he'd be thinking during the time that Suze is at school.

So what you had asked for (more of Jesse's thoughts) is done in this one :)

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I was wandering in the beyond for a bit while she collected herself. Maybe she hadn't meant to act the way she did.

I wondered about her. I've been watching this family, as I believe I already said. They seem like a nice family. It made my heart ache for _mis hermanas. _I missed them. I missed my sisters.

But this girl… Her mother had said that her father had died. So who was Andy to her?

I have come to know that in recent years, remarriage is a common practice. But the girl's father had passed (I briefly wondered if he had taken his time, as I have), and so her mother had remarried.

My heart went out to her. At the same time though, I was angry. How dare she try to kick me out of my own room? I had been there for one hundred and fifty years! She couldn't just kick me out.

So I decided to give her another chance. I mean, maybe she was just frustrated. I can understand that, if she's been forced to leave her home, and she is without her father.

Maybe I should regard her in a more kind way. It _does _sound as if she's been through quite a lot.

But I couldn't resist poking fun at her. Just once.

That night, before she went to bed, I made sure to be outside her window. _Oh Susannah, don't you cry for me…_

The thing about not speaking to anyone for 150 years is that when you finally _do _find someone to talk to, that's all you want to do.

And all I wanted to do was talk to Susannah Simon.

And when I didn't see her for a few days, all I did was wonder about her. Where did she come from? Why was she here? Why could she see me? What happened to her father? How did he die?

I don't want to sound prying, but she really intrigued me. She wasn't like other girls. She was… not the kind that would have been accepted in my time. But she was beautiful. _Bellísima. _

It sort of bothered me that I found her so attractive. This girl was so… unconventional. So different from the girls that I would have sought out for myself back then. Or rather, the girls that were sought for me.

My mind quickly drifted to Maria… But I would not let myself think about her.

She was the past. Things had been done with her for a long time…

But then I thought back to what Susannah had said. If that was true… why was I still here?

I shook of the uncomfortable feeling that was forming in the pit of my stomach. I hated thinking about my death.

I briefly wondered when Susannah would be home.

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I know its short, but I wanted to get it OUT. Now he will appear again in chapter 9, and then I will be able to continue easier. It'll almost be half-way through the book then. And updates will hopefully get longer now.

I'll have an update as soon as I finish it (or if you give me 15 reviews. This may sound like a lot, but its about the same amount I've gotten for the other chapters.)

But most likely, I will just post when its finished—it should be done soon anyway.

And someone said it doesn't sound like Jesse... Any ideas how to fix it?

Love,

Monica


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